U.S. patent number 5,607,156 [Application Number 08/256,536] was granted by the patent office on 1997-03-04 for apparatus for playing games.
Invention is credited to Amaradivakara-Sam Samarasinghe.
United States Patent |
5,607,156 |
Samarasinghe |
March 4, 1997 |
Apparatus for playing games
Abstract
Apparatus for playing games relating to time comprises one or
two dice and a clock. The dice are dodecahedral. One dice
represents hours and has its facets numbered from 1 to 12. The
other dice represents minutes and is numbered at intervals of 5
from 5 to 60. The clock is made up of a central circular core and
twelve sector-shaped outer segments. Various games can be played
with the apparatus.
Inventors: |
Samarasinghe; Amaradivakara-Sam
(Kuala Lumpur 55100, MY) |
Family
ID: |
26300160 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/256,536 |
Filed: |
October 18, 1994 |
PCT
Filed: |
January 18, 1993 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/GB93/00106 |
371
Date: |
October 18, 1994 |
102(e)
Date: |
October 18, 1994 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO93/13839 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
July 22, 1993 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Jan 16, 1992 [GB] |
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9200862 |
Sep 21, 1992 [GB] |
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9219947 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
273/146; 273/236;
273/276; 273/283; 434/304; D21/362 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F
3/0497 (20130101); A63F 3/00574 (20130101); A63F
2003/00018 (20130101); A63F 2003/00362 (20130101); A63F
2009/0411 (20130101); A63F 2009/0437 (20130101); A63F
2011/0016 (20130101); A63F 2250/1063 (20130101); A63F
2250/48 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63F
3/04 (20060101); A63F 9/00 (20060101); A63F
9/04 (20060101); A63F 3/00 (20060101); A63F
3/02 (20060101); A63F 003/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;273/146,236,272,276,283,284,299,268 ;434/304 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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1402037 |
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May 1965 |
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FR |
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2462918 |
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Mar 1981 |
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FR |
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3305673 |
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Aug 1984 |
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DE |
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8807740 |
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Dec 1988 |
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DE |
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11784 |
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Jul 1910 |
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GB |
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2069218 |
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Aug 1981 |
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GB |
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2263237 |
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Jul 1993 |
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GB |
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Primary Examiner: Layno; Benjamin H.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Birch, Stewart, Kolasch &
Birch, LLP
Claims
I claim:
1. An apparatus for playing games comprising at least one die and a
planar object with markings thereon, each of said dice consisting
essentially of twelve facets, each facet having markings to
indicate numerals and/or letters of the alphabet and/or other
characters, and the planar object comprising at least twelve parts
capable of being assembled into a composite planar sheet, each part
having markings of numerals and/or letters and/or characters
corresponding to the facets on the die.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, and including two dice, each
die having twelve facets.
3. The apparatus according to claim 2, in which one of the dice has
its facets marked 0 to 11 or 1 to 12.
4. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which the planar object is
a clock face.
5. The apparatus according to claim 4 in which the clock face
includes an hour hand and a minute hand.
6. The apparatus according to claim 4, in which the clock face is
formed of a tray and the twelve parts of the clock face fit into
the tray.
7. The apparatus according to claim 6, in which the tray has an
outer wall and an inner wall and the clock face pieces fit with the
space between the inner and outer walls.
8. The apparatus according to claim 4, in which one of the dice has
its facets marked from 0 to 55 or 5 to 60 at intervals of 5.
9. The apparatus according to claim 1, comprising two dice and
further including twelve hour cards and twelve minute cards, each
hour card being marked with a number corresponding to a number on a
facet of one of the dice and each minute card being marked with a
number corresponding to a number on a facet of the other dice.
10. The apparatus according to claim 9, in which the hour and/or
minute cards are also marked with a symbol for a mathematical
function.
11. The apparatus according to claim 1 further including a
plurality of pegs, the twelve pieces of the object or clock being
each provided with a hole for receiving the pegs.
12. The apparatus according to claim 1 further including a number
of cards which is a multiple of twelve and comprising numbers
and/or letters of the alphabet and/or characters in combination
with/without mathematical signs.
13. The apparatus for playing games relating to time, comprising
two dice and a clock face, each die having twelve facets uniformly
distributed around its center point, one of the dice having its
facets marked to indicate twelve numbers at intervals of one unit,
the other die having its facets marked to indicate twelve numbers
at intervals of five units, the clock face being marked from 1 to
12 to indicate hours and from 5 to 60 or 0 to 55, at least at
intervals of 5, to indicate minutes.
14. The apparatus according to claims 13, in which the clock face
comprises pieces which fit together.
15. The apparatus according to claim 13 in which the clock face
includes a central piece.
16. The apparatus according to claim 15 in which the clock face
includes 12 sector pieces, each marked to indicate an hour, 1 to
12.
17. The apparatus according to claim 16, in which the sector pieces
include interlocking portions along their adjacent radial
edges.
18. The apparatus according to claim 16 in which the central piece
interlocks with the sector pieces.
19. The apparatus according to claim 13, in which the dice are
formed of dodecahedron.
20. The apparatus according to claim 19, in which the dodecahedron
have pentagonal facets with straight edges between adjacent
facets.
21. The apparatus according to claim 19, in which the dodecahedron
have curved transitions between adjacent facets.
Description
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for playing games,
especially but not exclusively, games relating to time.
According to the present invention, in one aspect, there is
provided an apparatus for playing games comprising at least one die
and a planar object, with markings thereon, characterised in that
the die has twelve facets, each facet having markings to indicate
numerals and/or letters of the alphabet and/or other characters,
and the planar object comprises at least twelve parts capable of
being assembled into a composite planar sheet, each part having
makings to indicate numerals and/or letters and/or characters
corresponding to the facets on the die.
According to the present invention in another aspect there is
provided apparatus for playing games relating to time, comprising
two dice and a clock face, each die having twelve facets uniformly
distributed around its center point, one of the dice having its
facets marked to indicate twelve numbers at intervals of one unit,
the other die having its facets marked to indicate twelve numbers
at intervals of five units, the clock face being marked from 1 to
12 to indicate hours and also from 1 to 60, at least at intervals
of 5 per facet to indicate minutes.
The first die represents an "hour die" and its facets may be marked
0 to 11 or 1 to 12. The second die represents a "minute die" and
its facets may be marked 0 to 55, or 5 to 60 at intervals of 5.
The die may be formed in a dodecahedron. They may have pentagonal
facets with straight edges between-adjacent facets, or they may
have facets of other shapes, for example, circular, with curved
transitions between adjacent facets.
The clock face may be made up of pieces which fit together. It may
include twelve sector pieces, each marked to indicate an hour 1 to
12. The clock face may include a central piece. The sector pieces
may include interlocking portions along their adjacent radial
edges, for example, tongue and groove. The sector pieces may also
include means for interlocking with the central piece. The central
piece may be circular.
The clock may include an hour hand and a minute hand for indicating
the time. The hands may be attached to the central circular
piece.
Alternatively the clock may be formed by a tray with clock pieces
that fit into the tray. The tray may have an outer wall and an
inner wall and the clock face pieces fit into the space between the
inner and outer walls.
The apparatus may also include sets of numbered cards. Each set may
be distinct from the others, for example by being coloured a
different colour. In one embodiment there are six sets coloured,
for example, red, green, blue, yellow, brown and black. The cards
may be numbered in a binary progression. There may be 10 cards in
each set numbered 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256 and 512. These
cards are used to keep the score of each player. Any number from 1
to 1023 may be formed by combinations of these cards.
In an alternative embodiment there are twelve `hour` cards and
twelve `minute` cards, each card being marked with a number
corresponding to a number on a facet of one of the dice. The `hour`
and `minute` cards may also be marked with symbols for mathematical
functions, such as "+", "-", ".times." and ".div.".
The apparatus may also include sets of chips identified in the same
manner as the cards. For example there may be six sets of five
chips, the sets being coloured red, green, blue, yellow, brown and
black.
Alternatively or in addition, the apparatus may be provided with
pegs which fit into holes in the clock face.
A cup may be provided as a shaker for the dice.
Although in some games the hour die is used to represent hours, it
could be used in other games to indicate months of the year, ie.
January=1, February=2, etc.
The `minute` die can likewise be used to represent seconds instead
of hours.
Although in the arrangement described above the apparatus is marked
with numerals for playing games relating to time, the die and clock
and the scoring cards may be marked additionally or alternatively
with letters of the alphabet or other characters, for playing other
games.
The apparatus of the present invention can be used for playing many
different games, examples of which will be described below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of
example, of wherein,
FIGS. 1 and 1A show dice of the game apparatus in accordance with
the present invention;
FIG. 2 shows a front view clock face of the game apparatus in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of sector pieces of the clock face
of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 shows a side view of the central piece of the clock face of
FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 shows a plan view of an alternative clock face of the
present invention with some parts removed;
FIG. 6 shows a section or the line VI--VI of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 shows perspective view of piece of the clock face of FIG.
5;
FIG. 8 shows the decorative finish that might be applied to the
clock face of FIG. 5;
FIG. 9 shows hour cards for the apparatus of the present
invention;
FIG. 10 shows minute cards for the apparatus of the present
invention;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 1A, these drawings show two dodecahedral
dice 10 and 11 of the game apparatus in accordance with the present
invention. The die 10 has twelve facets 12 marked with numbers 1 to
12. The die 11 has twelve facets 13 marked with numbers 0, 5, 10,
15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 and 55. Each facet is in the shape
of a pentagon with a straight edge transition between adjacent
facets.
FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 show a clock of the game apparatus in accordance
with the present invention. The clock 20 has a face 21 marked with
hours, 1 to 12 and with minutes 0 to 59 as a conventional clock
face. Although the embodiment shown shows all the minutes numbered,
in other embodiments the minutes numerals are only shown at 5
minute intervals, 5, 10, 15 etc.
The clock face is made up of thirteen pieces, a central circular
piece 22 and twelve sector pieces 23. Each section bears a numeral
for one of the hours. The central piece carries an hour hand and a
minute hand for indicating the time (not shown). The thirteen
pieces of the clock face fit together. Each sector has a tongue 24
along one of its radial edges and a groove 25 along the other. The
tongue of one sector fits into the groove of the adjacent sector
when the pieces of the clock are assembled.
The inner edge of each sector piece 23 has a peg 26 which fits into
a corresponding slot 27 in the periphery of the circular piece 22.
The central piece is used to join any number of sector pieces
together as a unit.
Although in the embodiment the clock is shown to have a central
portion, this could be omitted and the clock could consist of 12
pieces, with the sector pieces extending to the center of the
circle.
FIGS. 5 to 8 show an alternative construction of clock face. The
clock face 40 comprises a tray 41, preferably moulded from plastics
material, having a flat base portion 42 with a raised outer wall 43
and an inner wall 44 forming a central boss which may have a flat
portion 45 on which the hands 39 of the clock may be mounted by
means of a plastic nut and bolt 49. The inner and outer walls 44
and 43 are 12-sided.
FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of one of the twelve wedge-shaped
portions 46 which make up the clock face. The twelve wedge shape
portions fit together in the tray 41 in a circle around the boss,
with their outer ends fitting inside the outer wall 43. In FIG. 5
some of the portions 46 have been left out. The top surface 47 of
the wedge-shaped portions projects above the outer wall, and a
curved recess is formed in the outer edge of the portions to
receive a finger to enable the portions to be easily lifted out of
the tray.
Holes 50 are formed in the wedge-shaped portions 46 to receive
cylindrical pegs (not shown) which are additional playing piece for
the game. One hole is formed in each portion.
FIG. 8 shows a typical face that may be applied to the clock. The
clock face is marked with numerals 1 to 12 corresponding to the
numeral 1 to 12 which appear on the facets of the `hour` die, and
with numerals 0 to 59 corresponding to minutes which are only
represented in steps of 5 on the minute die. One `hour` numeral and
five `minute` numerals appear on each portion of the clock
face.
The clock face may have letters of the alphabet in addition to the
numerals for hours and minutes, on each portion of the clock face.
The two letters appear on each portion except for two portions
where the letters W & X and Y & Z are doubled up. The dice
are also marked with letters in addition to numbers with a
different letter on each of the twenty-four facets of the two dice,
the W & X and Y & Z being on the same facets. Thus, for
example, one die will be marked with A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J,
K, L and the other with M, N, 0, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W/X, Y/Z.
In other versions of the apparatus, the numerals may be omitted
from the dice and only letters or other characters may appear on
their facet.
FIGS. 9 and 10 show `hour` cards and `minute` cards that may be
used with the other apparatus to play games. There are 12 hour
cards and 12 minute cards. There is one `hour` card corresponding
to each facet of the `hour` die and one `minute` card corresponding
to each facet of the `minute` die and the cards are marked
accordingly. In addition, each `hour` card is marked with a scoring
number and a mathematical operator for example, the `7 hours` card
may be marked "7-". The minute cards are marked with scoring
numbers, for example, the `20 minute` card may be marked "2".
Using the cards the score may be recorded as follows. Let us
suppose the dice are thrown and show 7 hours and 20 minutes. The
score cards for 7 hours and 20 minutes are placed side by side. The
score is calculated: 7-2=5. The score is therefore 5. Not all games
require the score cards to be used.
The apparatus may also include pegs as mentioned above. 24 pegs may
be provided and they may be marked in two different colours, for
example 12 red and 12 white.
The following are examples of games that can be played with the
apparatus described above.
12 O'Clock
This is a game that can be played with 2 to 6 players.
The clock 20 is first set at 12 o'clock. The first player throws
the dice 10 and 11. Supposing the dice 10 shows 3 and the dice 11
shows 20 indicating 3 hours 20 minutes, the clock is set at 3 hours
20 minutes. The next player throws and the time indicated by his
throw is added to the time already on the clock. Thus if his throw
indicates 7 hours 50 minutes, the clock is advanced to be set at 11
hours 10 minutes. Play continues in this way, each player adding
his time to the time shown on the clock.
Players score as follows. If at the end of his go the minute hand
comes to the 15, 30 or 45 minutes position, the player scores 1
hour. If at the end of his go the minute hand comes to the 60
minute position the player scores the number hours indicated by the
hour hand. For example, if the minute hand is at 60 minutes and the
hour hand is 7, the players scores 7 hours.
120 Minutes
This is a game suitable for 2 players and only the `minute die` 11
is used.
The first player throws the die and he removes the sector piece 22
of the clock corresponding to the number he has thrown. For
example, if the die shows 35, he removes the piece that bears 35
minutes.
Play continues with the players removing the sector pieces from the
clock corresponding to the numbers thrown. If the piece
corresponding to the number thrown has already been taken by his
opponent, the player takes the piece from his opponent. If he has
already taken the piece himself he merely keeps it.
Play continues until one player has accumulated pieces of the clock
totalling 120 minutes. Only the minutes at 5 intervals, ie. 5, 10,
15 . . . etc. count towards the score.
The numbered cards marked may be used for keeping the score.
48 Hours
This is a game similar to 120 minutes but the `hour die` is used
instead of the minute die and the game is won by the first player
to accumulate pieces amounting to 48 hours in value.
100 Hours
This is a game for two players using the `hour die` only.
The players start with all twelve hour sector pieces 22 removed
from the clock face. Only the central circular piece 23 is in
place. The first player throws the die and sets the sector piece 22
of the clock that corresponds to the number thrown, in place. The
game continues until a player gets two or more adjoining parts of
the clock together. If a player places the piece numbered 10 when
the piece numbered 9 is already laid he scores (9+10)=19. If he
places the piece numbered 7 when the pieces numbered 6 and 8 are
already laid he scores (6+7+8)=21. If a player places the piece
numbered 7 when the pieces numbered 8, 9 and 10 are already laid he
scores (7+8+9+10)=34.
If the number on the die is already laid, the player loses that
number from his score and the corresponding piece is removed from
the clock. For example, if the player throws 10 and the piece
numbered 10 is already laid, he must deduct 10 from his score and
remove the piece numbered 10 from the clock.
The first player to score 100 wins the game. The numbered cards are
used for keeping score.
STAR-WARS
This is a game for 2 to 6 players. The clock face is complete.
Each player is given five chips. The first player throws the hour
die. If he throws 7 one of his chips is placed at 7 on the clock
face. The next player throws the die and a chip is placed at the
hour corresponding to his throw. Play goes on and if a chip comes
to a space occupied by another chip, this chip is discarded and the
new chip takes its place. Then the owner of the discarded chip must
use a new chip when it comes to his turn to play. If a player has a
chip on the clock, when he throws the die again he must move his
chip clockwise according to the figure shown on the die. If a
player throws 9 and his chip is at 7, his chip must move clockwise
9 positions to 4. At any given time a player may have only one chip
on the clock.
A player can move his chip anti-clockwise only if by doing so he
could displace another player's chip. For example, if a chip is at
6 and the die shows 4 the chip could move either to 10 or 2 only if
there is another chip at 2. If there is a chip at 10 he must move
clockwise and replace that chip. If the player has a choice of
displacing other players chips both clockwise and anti-clockwise
directions, must move only clockwise direction. Always move chip
clockwise unless it can move anti-clockwise and occupy a position
occupied by another player.
When a player has lost all five chips he is out of the game. The
play continues until all the players except one are out of the
game. The number of chips retained by the last player is his score.
This may be anything from 1 to 5.
If necessary a number of games could be played until a player
scores say 10, 15 or 25 points. This should be decided before the
first game.
The apparatus of the present invention can also be used in solving
a number of puzzles, of which the following are examples.
Q1. How many times does the minute-hand pass over the hour-hand in
a 24 hour day?
Answer: Not 24 times, only 22 times. Observe the clock very
carefully.
Q2. Assume the hour-hand is moving in the clock-wise direction and
minute-hand moving in the anti-clockwise direction. How many times
does the minute-hand pass over the hour-hand during a 24-hour
day?
Answer 26 times. You may try this with the clock.
Q3. If the minute-hand is moving in the clock-wise direction and
hour-hand is moving in the anti-clockwise direction. How many times
does the minute-hand pass over the hour-hand in a 24-hour day?
Answer 26 times.
Q4. The clock face is to be broken into 6 parts. The numbers in
each part are added to form 6 sums. The difference between any two
of the sums is found to be a multiple of 4. How is the clock-face
divided?
Answers (1+2), (3+4), (5+6), (7+8), (9+10) and (11+12) or (2+3),
(4+5), (6+7), (8+9), (10+11) and (12+1).
Q5. The clock face is divided into four parts. The numbers in each
part are added to form 4 sums. The difference between any two of
the 4 sums is found to be a multiple of 9. How is the clock face
divided?
Answer (1+2+3), (4+5+6), (7+8+9), and (10+11+12).
Q6. The clock face is divided into 3 parts. The numbers in each
part are added to form 3 sums. The difference between any 2 sums is
a multiple of 8. Show how the clock face is divided.
Answer (3+4+5+6), (7+8+9+10) and (11+12+1+2).
Q7. Starting with the complete clock face and at the number 1 on
the face. Count in a clockwise direction and remove the third
figure, ie. remove hour 3. Then start with the next figure. Keep on
doing this until only one figure is left on the clock. Finally the
piece with hour 10 will remain in the clock.
Start with 1 and count a certain figure and remove that piece. Then
start with the next figure and repeat the process. If the last
figure remaining on the clock face is hour 12, what is the figure
to be counted?
Answer Count 14. Even if you count 35 you will find the last piece
remaining in the clock is hour 12.
Q8. If you start with 1 and count a certain number and repeat the
procedure as before the last piece remaining in the clock is hour
10. Can you find the lowest number to be counted? The number is not
3.
Answer 23.
The following are examples of games that can be played with the
alternative clock.
The games 12 O'clock, 120 minute, 48 hours and 100 hours could be
played using the alternative clock except that the score should be
recorded on a piece of paper. Further all the puzzles could be
solved using the alternative clock. The following are examples of
additional games that can be played with the alternative clock.
Beat the hour
This game is played by two or more players.
Arrange pegs of any color in the clock, leaving the hour 12, empty.
Now, move a peg over an adjoining one and remove the stationary
peg.
NOTE: Since only the hour 12 is empty, you have to begin the game
at either the hour 2 or the hour 10. Each peg can move over only an
adjoining peg.
Keep repeating the process until only one peg remains in the
clock.
If you find the above game is too simple remove the pegs so that
only the peg at the hour 6 remains in the clock.
Now you may decide which peg to be remained on the clock. Try to
remove all the other pegs.
This puzzle may be played as a game by taking down the time taken
by each player to complete the puzzle.
On The Minute
This game is played by two to six players. Only the minute die is
used.
a. The first player throws the minute die. If the die shows 20
minutes, a peg is placed at 20.
b. The next player throws the die and the number of minutes
indicated by his throw is added to the time already on the clock.
Thus, if the throw indicates 25 minutes, the peg is moved to
55.
c. The players score as follows: When the peg is positioned at the
end of each throw, the player checks the score card for his
score.
Example: If the peg is at 50, the player's score in the
corresponding score card is 6.
The first player to score 40 points wins the game.
Lucky hour
This game is played by two to six players. Only the two dice and
the score cards are used.
a. Each player take turns to throw the dice. If the dice indicate 5
hours 40 minutes, then the score, according to the corresponding
score cards, is {5.times.1}=5. If the dice indicate 7 hours and 25
minutes, the score is {7-6}=1.
b. The first player to score 50 points wins the game.
3. On the hour
This game is played by two players
a. Each player throws the hour die and places a peg on the hour
indicated by the die. The two players must use different coloured
pegs.
b. If player A's die shows an hour occupied by player B, player B's
peg will be replaced by player A's peg. If the die shows an hour
already occupied by the same player the peg will remain there.
c. The first player who gets his pegs on four (4) consecutive hours
wins the game. The score is equal to the sum of the four (4)
hours.
Example: if the pegs are at 6, 7, 8 and 9, the score is 30.
The game will proceed until a player reaches a pre-set score, say,
100.
Off the clock
This game is played by two to six players.
a. Fill the 12 hours of the clock with pegs of the same colour.
b. The first player throws the hour die. The player must remove the
pegs corresponding to the number on the hour die or a number of
pegs totalling the same number. If the hour die shows 8, any one of
the following combination of pegs can be removed.
a. 8
b. 1+7
c. 2+6
d. 3+5
e.1+2+5
f. 1+3+4
The same player continues until the die shows a number where pegs
can't be removed. The player's score is the total of the numbers
indicated by the locations where the peg have been removed. The
player with the highest number of points after five rounds wins the
game.
Round the clock
This game is played by two to six players.
Each player takes turns to throw the hour die until the die shows
1. Then a peg is placed at 1 and that player scores 1. The players
continue to take turns to throw the hour die until a player throws
2. Then the peg is moved to 2 and that player scores 2. The game
continues until the peg moves to 12. The player with the highest
score wins the game.
It will be appreciated that there is a large number of other games
and puzzles that can be played using apparatus in accordance with
the present invention.
* * * * *